Buck-rake hay-fork.



PATENTED NOV. l2, 1907.

G. R. BOULDING.

BUCK RAKE HAY FURK.

APPLICATION FILED rma. e. 1907,

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

. fw: "mams PETERS CQ. WASH/Nuon'. a. c

PATENTED NOV. l2, 1907. G. R. BOULDING. BUCK RAKE HAY FORK.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

GEORGE R. BQULDING, OF WELLS, NEVADA.

BUCK-RAICE HAY-FORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 12, 190'7.

Application filed February 9. 1907. Serial No. 356.565.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. BOULDING, a citizen of the United States,residing at Wells, in the county of Elko and State of Nevada, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Buck-Rake Hay-Forks; andI do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in hay forks adapted for use withrakes which are known by different titles as buck sweep or bull rakes.In my improved construction the fork or hay carrying device, isconstructed somewhat after the manner of a stacker head or the head ofan ordinary hay stacker, whereby it is adapted for use with a rake ofthe character indicated. ln my improved construction the teeth of thefork rest upon the ground and the hay is placed by the rake upon theteeth of the fork. This fork is provided with an upright having aforwardly curved arm upon which is movably mounted a block carryinganti-frictional Wheels or sheaves, whereby the block when released, isfree to travel on the curved arm. Provision is made for locking thisblock upon the forward extremity of the arm and in a position preferablyslightly forward of the center of gravity when the fork is loaded. Atrigger is employed for this purpose. When it is desired to dischargethe load from the fork, the trigger is actuated to release the block. Asthe hoisting cable is connected with this block, as soon as it isreleased it will run upwardly on the arm while the teeth of the forkwill be tilted downwardly by the load, allowing the latter to sliptherefrom. As soon as the load has been discharged, the center ofgravity will be shifted toward the rear extremity of the fork, causingthe heavier rear part to move downwardly, and causing the sliding blockto move forwardly on the curved arm; i

and as soon as the fork is lowered to the ground and the pull on thehoisting cable ceases to act, the block will run down to the lowerextremity of the curved arm and the trigger will fall into the lockingposition when the fork is ready for another load.

Having briefly outlined my improved construction, I will proceed todescribe the same in detail reference being made to the accompanyingdrawing in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing, Figure l is a side elevation of my improved hay forkshown in connection with a derrick or hoisting apparatus. Fig. 2 is adetail view showing my improved fork on a larger scale and with themovable block at the lower end of the curved arm. Fig. 3

is a detail view of the fork showing the sliding block in the positionwhich it assumes just as the load has left the same. Fig. I shows thesliding block on an enlarged scale and in a position corresponding withthat shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 shows the same block in the position on thecurved arm corresponding with that shown in Fig. 3 and on the same scaleas Fig. 1. Fig. G is a View of the suspension block and its connectionslooking in the direction of arrow (i in Fig, 4.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate a derrick which may be of any suitableconstruction. This dei-rick is provided with an arm (i movably connectedat '7 with the upright shaft or boom S. The hoisting cable 9 passesunder a guide pulley l0 at the base, upwardly around a guide l2 at thelower extremity of the arm 6, and thence over a guide 13 at the upperextremity of the arm G.` This cable then passes downwardly (see Fig. l)and is connected with a pin Vlli mounted on the sliding block which inits entirety will be designated l5. This block is composed of twosimilar plates Vi6 through which is passed a number of pins or journalsV17 upon which are mounted grooved sheaves I8. As shown in the drawingthere are four of these sheaves and they engage a curved arm 19 onopposite sides. This curved arm is a part of an upright l5)A which issecured to the central rear part of the fork as shown at 20. This forkis composed of a number of teeth 2lV which extend forwardly from crossbars 22 and 23 with which the teeth are rigidly connected. The uprightmember '19A extends vertically from the central part of the bar 23. Thisupright 19A merges at its upper extremity in a forwardly curved arm I9which when the teeth of the fork are in a horizontal position, has itsforward extremity located considerably forward of the center of gravityof the fork when it is empty or when there is no load thereon. When,however. the load is placed upon the fork by the rake, the sliding blockwith which the hoisting cable is connected is so located that the pointof suspension is preferably slightly forward of the center of gravity sothat as the fork is hoisted the forward extremities of the teeth will bctilted slightly upwardly thus insuring the retaining of the hay or othermaterial upon the fork. During the hoisting of the loaded fork,provision must be made for locking the movable block upon the curved armotherwise the block would run up to the highest point of the arm andallow the forward extremities of the teeth to tilt downwardly anddischarge the load. ln order to hold the movable block in the forwardposition or at the lower extremity of the curved arm l), I employ atrigger device 24 fulcrumed on the block at 25 and having a forwardlylocated U-shaped part 2G which when released will assume by gravity theposition shown in Figs. 2 and 4, assuming that the movable block is atits lowest limit of movement on the curved arm` When in this positionthe forward extremity 27 of the U- vshaped part engages the lower` orforward extremity of the curved arm, and locks the movable block in theforward position; and when the block is in such position, the fork isready for the load. To facilitate the manipulation of the lockingtrigger, a pull cord 28 is connected therewith and may be accessible tothe operator or person in charge of the apparatus.

From the foregoing description the use and operation of my improved forkwill be readily understood. Assuming that the fork is in the positionshown in Fig. 1 and that the movable block 15 is at the lower extremityof the curved arm 19, as power is applied to the cable 9 in thedirection ofthe arrow in Fig. l, the fork together with the load ishoisted and will move upwardly with the teeth in an approximatelyhorizontal position but preferably with their forward extremitiesslightly higher than their rear extremities, owing to the fact that thepoint of suspension of the hoisting cable is located slightly forward ofthe center of gravity of the load. As soon as the fork with its load hasbeen hoisted to the desired height, the operator pulls upon the cord orrope .28, and throws the forward extremity 27 of the locking trigger 24upwardly, thereby disengagng the curved arm 19 from the said trigger`and allow'- ing the movable block to run upwardly on the curved arm inresponse to the pull of the hoisting cable. This allows the forwardextremities of the fork teeth to tilt downwardly under the weight of theload, whereby the hay or other material 30 is allowed to slip from thefork, into position upon the stack or other desired location. At thistime the movable block 15 occupies the positionapproximately shown inFig. 3; but as soon as the load has left the fork, the center of-gravityof the latter will be shifted toward the rear and the block 15 will moveforwardly on the curved arm whereby the point of suspension will bedirectly above the center of gravity of the fork and the latter will beapproximately balanced. As soon, however, as the fork is lowered to theground and the pull on the cable is released, the movable block will rundown the curved arm to its lower and forward extremity, and the triggerwill drop to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, thus locking themovable block in this position. When this occurs the fork is ready foranother' load and the operation heretofore described is repeated.

The fork is provided at its rear extremity with a pair of anchors 3lwhose rear extremities are curved downwardly and adapted to penetratethe earth, whereby the fork is prevented from rearward movement as thehay or other' material is shoved thereon by the rake.

Attention is called to the fact that as soon as the load is dischargedfrom the fork, the latter shifts its position to that shown by dottedlines in Fig. l whereby the points of the teeth are considerably moreelevated than at the instant of the discharge of the load. The positionof discharge is indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

Having thus described my invention, what claim is:

l. A fork of the class described comprising a toothed structure adaptedto support the load and provided with a rearwardly located upright, anda forwardly curved arm which when the teeth of the fork are in ahorizontal position, has its forward extremity directly downwardly andlocated considerably in advance of the center of gravity ot' the fork, ablock movably located on said arm and with which the. hoisting rope orcable is `connected, the said block being provided with a lockingtrigger adapted to automatically assume a position to hold the block atthe forward and downward extremity of the curved arm, and means foractuating the trigger to release the movable block for the purpose-'setforth.

2. A hay fork provided with a suspension block movably mounted thereonand normally freeto change position as the center of gravity of the loadchanges, and a trigger' having a U-shaped extremity for locking theblock in ai predetermined position.

A hay fork provided with a curved arm and a suspension block movable onthe arm and normally free to change its position as the' -center ofgravity of the load changes, the said block being provided with rollerst0 facilitate themovement of the block on the arm 4. `A hay forkprovided with a curved arm, a suspension block movable on the arm andnormally free to change its position as the center' of gravity changes,and a trigger having a U-shaped .extremity for locking the block in apredetermined position on the arm.

5. A hay fork provided with a curvedarm and a snspension block movableon the arm and normally free to change its position as the center lofgravity changes, and a trigger for locking the block on the arm, thelocking action of the trigger being vautomatic when the block is at apredetermined position on the arm.

6. A hay fork provided with a curved suspension arm, and a block movableon the arm and normally free to change its position as thecenter ofgravity of the fork and its load changes, the said block being providedwith anti-friction devices to facilitate the movement of the block onthe arm.

7. A hay fork provided with a curved suspension arm, and a block movableon the arm and normally fr-ee to change its position as thecenter ofgravity changes, the said block being provided with sheaves engaging thearm above and below to facilitate freedom of movement.

8. A hay fork provided with a head having teeth adapted to receive theload from the rake, the rear extremity of the head being provided withanchoring devices to prevent the rearward movement of the head of thefork in response to the push ot' the rake as the load is placed upon thefork head, substantially as described.

Y). A hay fork provided with teeth for supporting the load, a curvedsuspension arm occupying a position considerably above the teeth inorder to make room forthe load, and a block movably mounted upon thecurved arm and with which block the hoisting cable is connected, the

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE R. .BOULDING.

Witnesses DENA NELSON, MAY GAWLEY.

